Active Listening!

Luke 11:28
Happy are those who hear the teaching of God and obey it.

What does it mean to actively listen for God’s voice? I always thought that when God spoke to me it would be in unconventional ways that would get my attention. Perhaps He would speak through a lightning bolt or good conk on the head or even through a powerful speaker, it would definitely be an “ahh haa” moment, a revelation. What I am learning though, is that God’s voice is often a soft and gently breeze, a whisper, so quiet that if I’m not listening I’ll miss it. That means I have to be actively listening all the time, I have to be studying His word, immersed in His word and yes, living His word.
Let me put it another way. When you live with a person you begin to know what they will say before they say it, how they will act before they act and how they will react before they react. The longer you live with that person the more their actions become predictable, in some cases you can finish their sentences, no words even need to pass between you and you know what the other is thinking. That is the kind of relationship you need to have with Christ to hear God’s voice.
Colossians 2:6 says “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in Him. Keep you roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught and always be thankful.”
Christ spent time daily, talking with His Father, listening for His voice and obeying His instructions. We are called to do the same. Are you actively listening for God today? Have you surrounded yourself with things that will help you hear God’s voice or is the cacophony of life drowning Him out?
Take time today to talk to Him. Ask Him for ears to hear, to be actively engaged in listening for Him. And when you hear Him, obey, your happiness will be found when you listen, hear and obey.